Sweden’s “The Square,” Russia’s “Loveless” and Chile’s “A Fantastic Woman” are among the nine films that will advance in the Oscars race for Best Foreign Language Film, the Academy announced on Wednesday.

The other films that made the list come from Germany (“In the Fade,” starring Diane Kruger), Hungary (“On Body and Soul”), Israel (“Foxtrot”), Lebanon (“The Insult”), Senegal (“Félicité”) and South Africa (“The Wound”).

Angelina Jolie’s Cambodian-language film “First They Killed My Father” did not advance in the race, and neither did the critically acclaimed “BPM (Beats Per Minute)” by Robin Campillo.

Volunteer members from all branches of the Academy viewed and scored all the eligible films at screenings over the last two months, with their votes choosing six films for the shortlist. The Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee then met to choose an additional three films to complete the shortlist.

The Academy never reveals which shortlisted films were chosen by the general committee and which were executive-committee “saves,” but the general voters are known to have responded favorably to “The Insult,” “On Body and Soul” and “A Fantastic Woman,” among others.

The dark and grim “Loveless” is a likely save, and anecdotal evidence suggests that twisted comedy “The Square” might have required executive-committee intercession as well.

The nine semi-finalists will now be narrowed down to five nominees in a significantly expanded Phase 2 process. In the past, second-round voting was done by small, hand-picked committees in Los Angeles, New York and London, which typically had a penchant for choosing the tougher, artier films that could well have required saves.

This year, though, Phase 2 committees in New York, San Francisco and London will be open to all members who agree to see all nine films – and outside of the U.S. and London, international members will be able to participate in the voting by streaming the nine movies on the Academy’s secure members’ website.

The changes should add far more voters to the nominating process, particularly international voters, and the increased number of voters could skew the vote in a way that will benefit audience-friendly films.

Steve Pond, awards editor at TheWrap, is also author of the L.A. Times bestseller The Big Show. He has been covering entertainment for more than two decades, and is the industry's most knowledgeable Academy Awards prognosticator.